The third faction
by detrametal
Summary: the earl has the noah and the order has the exorcists. who does allen have? written a while ago please R&R small romance between Klaud and OC


The cardinal sat in front of Klaud Nine and her disciple Timothy Hearst and disciple-on-loan Lenalee. His black vestments made his cold eyes even crueler. "Your job is to find Allen Walker and bring him here. That is your mission. Do not fail." Klaud bowed and walked out.

Timothy shuddered "Master, that man creeps me out…" Lenalee giggled and nodded.

Klaud nodded and stroked Lau Jimin "such is the way of things. Lenalee," the girl looked at the general "whatever lingering affections you have for Walker don't let them cloud you judgment." and with that they prepared for their train.

Kanda, Allen and Johnny looked into the rubble of the once majestic building. The owner of said building had been selling people to numerous factions and had captured Johnny. Thus Allen and Kanda destroyed the building. One form huddled amongst the wreckage. Allen beckoned and the figure slunk to him. The man was tall, not that it would ever show with him curled in on himself as he was. His hair color was spilt down the middle, white on the left and black on the right. It hung just long enough to cover a hideous bandage over his left eye. The only thing he wore was a set of tattered jeans that clung to his gaunt tan frame. Johnny pulled the bloody wrap from around the man's head "Kanda! Allen! Look at this" in the place of an eye sat a yellow orb with two predatory slits in the shape of a cross…

Klaud looked at the rubble of the building than turned towards her team. Lenalee spoke quickly "The butcher said the explosion happened two months ago. Two months lead…"

Tim patted the downcast girls back "We'll find him" and looked up at his Master…or rather her retreating back "Hey! Wait up!" so much for sympathy. Something didn't add up and Klaud was going to find out what that was…

One week later Lenalee had seen Johnny and stalked him to the inn where the breakaways were staying. And that's how the four were running in the forest from Klaud's team. Unfortunately for them they were being led to a dead end. The cliff over looked the sea in a majestic view. Klaud knew she had them pinned. No weapons were drawn yet and the four had their eyes glued on the general. She delivered her ultimatum, "Allen Walker! Surrender and we will take you back to Headquarters without hurting you!"

He sighed and looked around and turned to face his team "What do we do?"

Kanda twitched in irritation "We can't kill her so…we need a decoy"

Johnny shook his head "Nobody can withstand that kind of beating. Once she realizes that we won't go she's gonna butcher us."

The former slave quietly spoke "let me be the decoy. I can meet with you guys in the next village in a day and we can move on"

Johnny sighed in exasperation "didn't you hear me? She's gonna gut you!"

He smirked "I can take it, when you guys see an opening run" he stepped forward and unwrapped his left eye. He answered "We will have to refuse your offer!"

Klaud rolled her eyes and snapped her whip. Lau launched forward at Allen until the unknown guy took a blow that should have crushed his ribs and yelled "Fading light!" a single crystal star appeared in front of Klaud. The star exploded leaving a three foot crater in the ground in front of her. Lau stood up and his movements ground to a halt "Attrition!" Lenalee paused, when Lau moved so did the guy…that's it! The technique was like marionette strings, when he moved so did Lau. She broke his concentration with a swift kick to the head. He staggered and charged her "Last Waltz!" his arm became coated with energy forming two giant tines on his left hand. It reminded her of Tyki Mikk in Edo. She responded with "sound shackles" she remembered the amount of damage Tyki did with that thing and if this "waltz" was anything like that she didn't want to be around it. The man was surprisingly weak, persistent but weak. When ever anything knocked him down he just got right back up. After about twenty minutes of this farce Klaud snapped "YOU! Useless!" his head whipped towards her "this has nothing to do with you get out of my way before I hurt you!" he shook his head. A tick or irritation formed on Klaud's cheek. The nerve! Not only was he useless he couldn't even hurt her team. She snapped her whip down hard and Lau slammed a fist into the man so hard that it shattered his sternum, spine and ruptured internal organs on top of throwing him off the cliff. She sighed one problem down-damn it! Her head whipped around Walker was gone. That was his plan! Distract her long enough that they could get away.

Lenalee stepped forward "what do we do now?"

Klaud shook her head and headed back for the inn.

Kanda sat on the fountain cobble and rested his head on a palm. "He's dead. Let's go"

Allen put a hand on Kanda's shoulder "One more hour and then we'll go"

Johnny pointed out to a sopping wet figure ambling towards them "Sorry you guys had to wait" a crooked smile was painted on his face.

That night Klaud flopped down on the train seat and huffed. That useless man had riled her up more than she thought. This new mission would, hopefully, take her mind off of him. Winters group was now going after Allen. She closed her eyes and fell asleep like her two disciples.

That stupid grin wasn't the only thing he brought back with him. Timcampy shot forward to a figure of equal height behind the man. "What is my idiot disciple doing here!?"

Allen shook his head in disbelief "Apparently annoying the hell out of you Master." Miriam Cross was, apparently, not dead after all.

Zokalo was back after six months of hunting. He sat in a room with Tidol and Klaud. Zokalo was heavily bandaged. "Asshole put up a fight"

Tidol raised a brow "Who?"

*shrug* "Can't remember his name"

Tidol continued "Kanda? Johnny? Allen?"

"No, the other guy. Oh, that reminds me Cross is with them too." and he grinned.

Tidol and Klaud both handed the mummy a couple of bills who pocketed them with a smirk. "It's the other guy. The damn near immortal one."

Klaud snorted delicately "you can't be serious. He's got to be dead" Zokalo shook his head "He couldn't hurt a fly!"

Zokalo looked at her like she had grown not just another head but four. "The hell are you talking about!? Bastard nearly gutted me! Not that the others can't fight but I stabbed the fucker at least eight times in the chest and he didn't even flinch! That shit shouldn't happen!"

Klaud stared at Zokalo "Got space on your next run?" the nod was immediate.

A open sided tent was placed in the emerald field. A large circular oak table was placed in the shade, the Earl was sitting down across from Allen and Cross. Silence. Allen spoke first "Why did you call us, Earl?"

The Earl, who was in his human form, replied "Call me Adam. Would you like some tea?"

Cross shot back "wine" while Allen nodded and Road put the cup in front of him and sat on Allen lap, much to the surprise of Adam and Cross. Allen's face didn't change.

As he sipped the tea Allen motioned his group that was sitting outside the pavilion. "It looks safe. Why don't you guys set up a perimeter?" Kanda tsked, Johnny laid down on the grass and fell a sleep and the other walked off to the only hill around.

After an hour he felt something coming. He stood up and gripped his hands behind his back loosely. Zokalo, Klaud, Timothy, Lenalee, and the rest of Allen's exorcist friends were trying to sneak up on to the hill. He raised a hand up to his chest palm down. "Fading light" thousands of crystals wrapped around the entire camp. The invaders ground to a halt and stared at him. He bowed at the waist and put his hand back behind him "Hello, I'm sorry but my job is to not let anyone disturb this meeting…"

Klaud handed Zokalo another note. This was getting to be expensive. "How are you alive?!"

He caulked his head to the side "I really don't know". she shook with fury. Lavi took a step forward and tried to touch one of the stars before Zokalo jerked him back by the back of his shirt. "Good thing Winters" he turned to Lavi "I really wouldn't touch those if I were you" and he flashed a friendly grin.

Allen grinned at his arch nemesis. Adam grinned back. Allen looked up as Kanda walked in. "The exorcists are here."

"Where?" He looked to the Earl "We'll handle this you just head home" the earl nodded and a portal teleported him and a huffy Road back to the arc. Kanda led the rest of the group to where their ally had pinned the black order with a circle of explosive crystals.

After hours of waiting Klaud ordered Lau into ranged attack. The monkey split from top to bottom and fired out a shell of energy. Unfortunately, Allen and the rest of his gang appeared right in the line of fire. As the shot screamed towards them the un named member kicked a crystal up into the air and slammed hit foot into it where it launched it into the ball of energy, causing an explosion that rocked the black order onto their butts. The mystery member's face was a threat in its self "Don't do that again. Ever" it was an order.

Allen looked at the group with concern "We shouldn't be fighting each other. Somebody got a hold of one of the Akuma egg shards and is creating high level akuma. And nobody can control them…"

The group below looked horrified. A human making akuma? Lenalee looked at Allen "What if he was lying?" her control which had been slipping since she saw him fell "Allen come home!"

"I can't I'm still hunted by those things" he spoke pointing to the 'cardinal' that had launched this man hunt. The innocence monster ran through the bomb losing his skin in the process and tried to spear Allen in the chest with a hand. The maker of said bombs stepped in front and took the hand in the chest without a twitch. He looked…bored and he waved the other's off.

"Infection, lets go" he said while removing the wraps from his eye. A keening sound rang out as the innocence agreed. His loose demeanor started to tense up. His hands moved down to his sides and curled into claws as he crouched slightly to allow better mobility. The Apocryphos jerked back then rushed at the man throwing a knee at his face.

Those watching would never believe it as the offending appendage disintegrated only millimeters from his face. The innocence re grew the leg and both fought until the human began to slow. After pulling a hand from his throat he looked back at Allen who sat down next to Johnny with some popcorn nodded. "Infection evolve. Corruption" the eye opened up until it looked like a normal eye. He took a breath and ripped out his other eye leaving the other watchers shocked. His fingers clawed their way deep into his socket and ripped out the orb and nerve which turned to dust and floated off in the currents of wind. The innocence formed another eye. The fight continued more evenly than before. Still a human will tire while an immortal could go forever. He looked back at Allen again who nodded again. He blinked. Blood started running down his nose from his forehead, he cried tears of blood leaving trails of life down his face. The stigmata appeared on his head as his skin turned a darker hue. A heart shaped door appeared and Road hopped through. She sat on Allen's lap earning an evil glare from Lenalee.

The fight changed dramatically. Two bright white wings appeared on Allen's champion. Lightning arced out and pushed the attacker back. From his hand a black fog enveloped his hand as he pushed it through the Apocryphos head. The attacker started to spasm as black mist poured out of his mouth, nose and ears. The body started to fade into dust leaving a small block of pure innocence. He tossed it to Klaud and walked back to his group.

Allen stood and spoke to the black order "We aren't allied with the Earl, nor you. At this point we're helping the Earl to find this maker because we want to…take that innocence as a sign of good faith…" and they walked off. After going a significant distance away the bombs slowly lowered into the ground leaving no marks, as if they were never there…

Klaud looked at the cube. A note was attached. "meet me at Grove's peak at nine" and there she sat at the hill overlooking the river. Waiting. She shivered at the bite in the air. She had left her jacket in her room thinking that it wouldn't be this cold. A soft hand dropped a light wool jacket over her shoulders. She looked up to see the man give her a smile and he sat next to her watching the river. They both were quiet for a long time. He used this time to look at the sky lose it's last light and the stars fill the sky with their peaceful light. She used the time to ogle him… In all fairness she was sitting to a nearly immortal if not full, enemy that had torn an Aporyphos to shreds, and was a Noah. After a while those facts fell to the back of her mind and she just looked at him. He was really tall with his odd black white hair. She sat on his right so she could see his real eye, which had regrown after his fight, the dark blue caught her for a moment until a icy wind blew and she shivered. He looked at her with concern and zipped up his jacket, she was trapped in his garment for the first time. He hit her with that smile and focused back onto the full moon. His kind smile had scars. every bit of him had them. Not just the invisible kind but across his face were lines where the scar tissue would forever mark him. After mulling over his appearance she noticed the scent off his jacket. It was a complex aroma that floated away like the water in the river below. She couldn't even name all the flavors. She caught honey, basil, and the bittersweet aroma of Nightshade. Each element was blended but stood out. She finally broke the silence "Why did you ask me here?"

He turned to face her, he looked back at the river "I wanted to see who had hunted me…and ask why."

She looked at him "…what's you name?"

He looked stunned "my…name?" she nodded slowly "I don't have one"

She scrunched her eyebrows "surly you have a name"

"nope, me and my twin sister were sold off to slavers before we were named." she looked at the man in front of her once again

"you answer me and I'll answer you, deal?" he nodded and pointed to her. He inhaled slowly "Did Allen tell you his story?" a nod "then that's really all there is to it. I guess that he sees more about this war than either side alone…I hunted you vehemently because I hate useless men." he rose an eye brow "I don't think you useless anymore, what with the way you kept everyone else safe" she rushed out to explain herself. "Now what's your story?"

"That's your question? You really aught to use it for something better than that…"

"It's my question."

She nodded to him and he started "Allen, Kanda and Johnny already know but I guess is should start at the beginning. Um…I had a twin sister. I remember we went everywhere together. Even as slaves they couldn't separate us." he looked into the eternity of the sky "we worked and worked until our bodies bled and bled until we almost died." he sat perfectly still for a moment and opened and closed his mouth several times before he continued. "one day we were sold to a new owner who loved to torture us. One day she dropped a tea pot on his mistress after he smacked her arm with a whip. He did…horrible things to her. He made me watch" he shuddered and let a few tears fall from his face. One fell on Klaud's hand and she looked at the drop. It was a flawless gem of water. She remembered when her mother told her 'the more perfect the tear the more sorrow it has'. he continued "she died after five days…he saw how sad it made me and left me near death. He killed about thirty people that were close to me. One day I begged god that I had a shield to keep all those people from dying. He heard my wish too late everyone was dead…"

He pulled out a flask out of his pocket and offered it to her. She took it and partook of a sip. The rough liquor would have knocked Cross flat on his ass. She grimaced, handed it back and watched in horror as he took a gulp and continued. "he tried to kill me after that. No matter what happened I couldn't die….he had been trying for years until Johnny found me chained in that glass room. You see Johnny was kidnapped and Kanda and Allen destroyed the building. Johnny pulled my band off and found the innocence and they took me along" his faint smile made her heart lift a little.

She looked out over to the falling moon. "how long were we out here?" she never got an answer instead she felt a kiss on the top of her head and whipped her head around to see him walking off…

Lenalee looked at the disbelief written all over Klaud's face and saw the coat. she looked her master up and down and busted out giggling. That snapped Klaud out of her trance and she growled at the little Chinese member. "What?"

"You look like you've just gotten your first kiss!" punctuated by her masters red face and more laughing. "Virgin" Lenalee quipped.

"Aren't you?" snapped the general

"Nope! Me and Bak, we've been together for seven months!" the master's jaw dropped.

An evil grin appeared on her face causing the hunter to be the hunted. "Did you tell your brother?" Lenalee's jaw shattered the floor.

The next day Allen and the slave met with Klaud and Miranda in the market soon after sun up. Miranda hugged Allen in greeting while Kluad shook his hand. The slave bowed to both people with great respect. They chatted for a while about the state of things. You know business talk. Allen agreed to keep a order golem on if they would stop hunting him. While Allen, Klaud and Miranda spoke at length the slave was rather quiet. Miranda, never one to hurt someone's feeling, finally asked "um…I'm sorry I never caught your name…"

He touched her with his sorrowful sun of a smile and replied "I've never had a name…perhaps you would like to name me?"

Miranda was stunned for a second and laughed "that's an amazing pick up line!" and her giggling was infectious. Except to the guy who was being serious. His smile faded and he walked off leaving the three rolling on the hard cobblestone's laughing.

Soon the three got up and continued shopping around before Allen spoke "…where is he?" they spent hours looking before they walked into a bar looking for a lead. The group saw four guys carrying an unconscious man over to a stool and put him in it. The most seedy of the four spoke with an cockney accent "aye, the bloke's got dynamite in 'is hand but ain't no way 'e can take bloody Tob on wif out a cut like 'hat!" and they followed the men over to a fight ring.

Money flew as bets were made and changed almost faster than the bookie could keep up. The announcer got the group to shut up by standing in the ring on a box and shouting for quiet. Accents abound! "alright you bloke's lost money you 'ant it back!" Ayes roared through the bar and the announcer bounced out of the ring and shouted back "Four on one let's see if the blighter can stand it!" more roars of agreement.

Four tough looking heathens appeared and played the crowd snarling and roaring, displaying muscles and generally trying to look as tough as they could. Klaud was unimpressed, no fighter wore a shirt in a ring and she had been to quiet a few looking for whatever the mission called for. Out of a door on the side of the circular ring a door opened and their quarry calmly walked out. He had no shirt on and no smile. He looked rather bored, as if he was looking at a less than interesting bug. A bell rang and the four circled him.

One stepped in and threw a punch at the back of his head. He leaned to the left and grabbed the offending fist and tossed it and it's owner into the wooden wall knocking him senseless. The other three came in cautiously and all together surrounding him. He dealt with the one in front of him first. His foot smashed into the man's face leaving two left. They both charged. He quickly ended the fight by wrapping his long fingers around each mans wrist and pulling them together so quickly that he dislocated their shoulders and they dropped quietly to the floor. He grabbed his shirt and walked over to the bookie's table and grabbed his money, to the bar and grabbed a bottle of possibly the roughest absinthe in existence and downed it in two gulps and grabbed another and walked out. The bar was silent, although it was debatable whether it was from the defeat of four men or the bottle of the rough spirit, with nothing else. The barkeep looked up and smiled "I did promise two bottles…good thing it was those two, I could never sell them" earning a laugh from the patrons as the group rushed out to find their ally.

They caught up with him on the outskirts of the town. "wait up!" he turned and looked deadpan as the three caught their breath. Allen gasped "why'd you run off like that?"

His voice held no venom but his anger permeated his word "well it looked like you three were having so much _fun_ that I thought I'd be _nice and let you have your laugh." he turned around and continued walking down to the shore. He sat and knocked back the bottle and fell back onto the soft sand and watched as the three talked and sat nest to him._

_He noticed how they sat closer to each other, about a foot, than to him, about six, almost like they didn't want to associate with him._

_Like he wasn't one of them._

_They looked at him then each other and they looked uncomfortable, like they were split; sit closer to him and been seen with him or keep the chilly distance and keep to themselves. _

_He hissed "What afraid to be seen with me? Then go home, all of you have lives. I'm just a tag along anyway." the hurt in his voice was turned into rage but the group saw it for what it was. He got up and stalked away, each foot print leaving a physical barrier between those with a past and him, the only one with no past nor a future._

_He looked at the rusty sky. Night was falling and he stood at Grove's peak. He sat alone. He would always be alone. After death there was only him. After night there was only him. After there existed only him. Only him. Alone._

_After he stormed off Allen, Miranda and Klaud visibly relaxed. They all felt a little guilty Miranda spoke first with some reluctance "…does he really not have a name?" _

_Allen shook his head "he was sold to slavers before he was named" he realized how open he was trying to be. He asked if a stranger would name him! And they joked about it…"Aw, damn" Allen stood up and went searching for his friend…ally. He stopped. What was he to Allen? To Kanda? To Johnny? To anyone? _

_Allen found him sitting on the hill and sat next to him. His sharp glare cut through Allen. The silence was suffocating. "uhhh…I'm sorry about earlier…"_

_He pulled his legs up to his chest, wrapped his arms around them and put his chin on a knee "no, your not."_

_Miranda seeing how Allen wasn't dead sat on the other side "I shouldn't have joked. I didn't realize you were serious…"_

_He stood up with anger written on his form "how could you have known. It's not like everyday you see someone without a name wandering around the streets more than ten years old." and he stormed off. Not figuratively, lightning and clouds were brewing around his body as he left a trail of misery in his wake._

_Klaud saw how successful Allen's attempt was and decided to wait until night fall before searching him out. That was why she was wearing his jacket watching him stare at Grove's peak. He sat there alone, it had been hours since Allen and Miranda left. She slowly walked to him and sat down. She knew he was like a animal at this point. She understood them. "Cuore" he turned to look at her "it means 'heart' in Italian I thought it was a fitting name"_

_His voice wasn't sharp but it was full of sorrow "and why is that? Because all you can kill is my heart?"_

_She shook her head "Because you are a heart" he looked at her with a look of skepticism "no really, I mean come on, you take on people you have next to no hope of beating for your friends and let yourself get tossed into situations that the only thing left alive are immortals just for your friends."_

"_I don't know if you were praising me or insulting…" Klaud's golem rang she clicked the button of the little bat's back and quickly spoke to the man on the other line. _

_Allen's group and the exorcists looked up as Klaud and Cuore walked in he immediately said "I'm going to sleep" the black order wrote it off quickly. Allen nodded carefully, Kanda pulled Mugen out slightly and Johnny shuddered. _

_After he retreated Klaud spoke. " three of the science division, Lenalee, Miranda and myself have been ordered to go with you. The rest are to go back to HQ. the others will come by arc tomorrow." those not assigned to the group and Cross said their goodbyes and left. Quiet conversation floated on the night air until a faint pink glow was cast about the circular commons that branched off to the rooms the two groups had ordered. Road and Tyki Mikk walked through. To the exorcist's credit they didn't attack. Tyki removed his hat and sat next to Allen in the last chair of the circle and Road sat on Allen's lap. The conversation lasted deeper into the night until everybody felt safe…_

_In mid sentence Allen bolted upright flinging Road onto the floor. The Noah in the room immediately took battle positions. A level four blasted it's way into the hotel, followed by three other fours and twelve threes. Quite the battalion. The akumas started blasting and causing a ruckus. Unfortunately for them they woke up a dragon. Literally. A door was launched off it's hinges slamming into one level three's back. Black fog slithered out of the gaping maw in the door. A clawed forearm appeared and grasped the door frame and pulled the monster along with it. A huge draconian body entered the room. The head was a giant cross like the stigmata on the Noah's head. The body was close to ten feet tall. The black skin and black angelic wings were at odds with the pure white talons on the hands and feet. It was a monster. A plume of smoke issued forth from it's hairless head. The voice was like metal on bone. Only bone had some warmth "whoooo woke meeee" it hissed. Kanda, Allen and Johnny pointed to the level four and dove out of the way as the dragon figure flattened the two level fours and three of the level threes. After decimating the numbers it walked back into the room. Nobody moved from the overturned table until no more rumbling issued forth from the hole in the wall._

"_what the hell was that?!" Klaud interrogated Allen…very quietly. _

"_well whenever we woke him up, that thing appeared"_

"_his name's Cuore" _

"_do what?"_

"_his name. Cuore. I take it this isn't the first time you've seen that?"_

_Allen shuddered and Johnny looked at her "no, one time Kanda and Allen got into it when he was asleep and he beat them and tied them together. Of the fighter's he's the weakest, that's why it's such a shock…"_

_Road took over "he's the Asura. The wrath. He's calm except when you wake him up. That's when his nature is revealed" she said in a sage like tone "Cuore" she rolled it around on her tongue " 'heart' nice name"_

_The others quietly went to bed._

_He woke up and saw the door missing. He looked around nervously. Whatever monster tore the door down frightened him. He walked out to see the others sitting chatting over tea and coffee. "what happened here? It looks like a war zone!"_


End file.
